On Vacation This Week… But Here’s A (Short) Warren Buffett Story Anyway
“BYD is a remarkable company run by a remarkable guy.”
Happy Thursday and welcome to our new subscribers!
I’m down in sunny Florida for the week, so please excuse this somewhat truncated entry.
But I couldn’t let this opportunity pass to thank all of our readers — from the bottom of my heart — for the continued growth of this newsletter.
In the first half of October alone, subscriptions increased by over 70% and “Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and the Unbreakable Berkshire Handshake” became the most-read article (by far) in Kingswell’s short history.
And none of that would have been possible without you.
Thanks so much to everyone for reading, liking, clicking, sharing, and retweeting. Your support means the world to me!
Speaking of that “Berkshire Handshake” article, I recently stumbled upon yet another example of how Warren Buffett — and the people he does business with — place trust and forthright honesty above all else.
In 2009, Buffett told a group of Columbia Business School students about his decision to invest in Chinese EV maker BYD:
BYD is a remarkable company run by a remarkable guy.
It took eleven months for the transaction to be approved. BYD could have backed out of the deal terms — the price had run up to HKD 40 from HKD 8 — but Wang Chuanfu did not. I don’t understand the product, so I am betting on the man.
BYD could have bailed after its share price quintupled in the eleven months between Berkshire agreeing to invest and the deal being officially approved.
The temptation must have been great to do just that.
But Wang Chuanfu is a man of his word — and the deal closed on its original terms.
On Monday morning, I woke up to just about the coolest news ever: Frederik Gieschen of Neckar’s Minds and Markets recommended Kingswell to his readers.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Gieschen’s writing is right up there among the best in the newsletter game. His 2021 article, “The Reading Obsession”, is 💯.
And, really, so is everything else he writes.
I’ll do my very best to ensure that Kingswell lives up to this great honor.
Two more recent faves over at Neckar’s:
And some others from my wider finance/investing reading list:
Observations of a New Costco Member (Rational Reflections). Can’t wait for the in-depth business profile of Costco coming later this month.
Wise Words from Ed Thorp (Novel Investor). “Thorp was at the forefront of discovering anomalies that existed in markets that nobody else knew about.”
A Rare Interview with Phil Fisher Following the 1987 Crash (Investment Talk). Just an incredible find by Conor. Read the whole thing.
(Oh, and a fun fact about Phil Fisher — He ate hot soup every morning for breakfast. Do with that what you will.)
And, since a lot of new subscribers have joined over the last two months, here are a few of my articles from early on that I think you might enjoy:
The Apple of Warren Buffett’s Eye. “With his folksy sayings and grandfatherly advice on life and investing (along with lots and lots of Cherry Coke), Buffett has also dispelled the notion that success in the stock market means becoming a Gordon Gekko or Bobby Axelrod.”
Tuning Out Like Templeton. “In one fell swoop, Templeton severed himself from the nerve center and beating heart of finance. He unplugged from the market machine.”
The Power of Tangible Things: An Ode to Stock Certificates. “Call me a Luddite if you wish, but those pieces of paper symbolized ownership of a real business in a way that ticker symbols on a computer screen never will.”
Thanks again for reading!
I’ll be back next week.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this issue of Kingswell, please hit the ❤️ below and share it with your friends (and enemies) so they don’t miss out. It only costs you a few clicks of the mouse, but means the world to me. Thank you!
Disclosure: This is not financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.